Megatron's Mercy
by Starcee138
Summary: Alone and critically injured in the middle of an arctic snowstorm, Starscream waits for death. Megatron finds him instead.


AN: Set after "Partners" but before Starscream loses his T-cog.

This one-shot is based on Anendda-Rysden's picture on Deviantart titled Megatron's Mercy. I love her artwork!

I've never written serious Megatron and Starscream interaction before so please excuse any OOCness. This is not slash but I suppose if you really want to you can think of it as such.

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A lone jet sliced through the air above the winter wasteland, leaving twin wisps of smoke trailing behind it. Starscream checked his internal scanners again and adjusted his path slightly to the right to accommodate for the strong gusts of wind that were pushing him off course. He suppressed the urge to shiver violently at the cold that he couldn't seem to shake. Starscream had been flying in the below freezing temperatures for a few hours already, only managing to retain body heat by keeping in constant motion.

A warning popped up on his HUD; Low energon levels, functioning at 45% capacity. _I know, slaggit, _he thought sourly, _why do you think I'm out here?_

Going rouge certainly had its disadvantages. He no longer had access to medical care of any sort or energon he hadn't mined himself, which happened to be a lot harder than it seemed, seeing as he had no drills or mining equipment and none had been left behind in any of the striped tunnels he'd visited. There were still a few hidden deposits he'd kept from Megatron, but they were only small veins too insignificant to show up on the scanners. It had taken Starscream a long time and a lot of guesswork to discover those measly little things, but he'd known they'd come in handy, and so far they'd been keeping him alive.

Another strong gale blasted a wave of icy air across his wings, and this time the jet couldn't fight the shiver. He was heading toward a larger deposit that branched from the cache he'd tried to melt a glacier to get to. This vein wasn't down as deep and hopefully even poked through the ice in some places. Starscream didn't know how he planned on reaching the energon if that wasn't the case, but he was sure he could figure it out once he got there and took stock of the situation.

Starscream slowed down and began to descend. According to his scanners, his destination was just ahead. He triggered his transformation sequence and landed heavily on the ground, sinking a few feet into the snow. His upper lip curled up in distaste at the cold white substance and he shook out each pede to rid them of the offending wetness. He took another step only to sink down again. He growled in frustration and trudged on.

Red optics carefully swept the ground, searching for a hint of blue in the seemingly unending sheet of white. He was beginning to grow worried; it should be right there. What if it truly _was _too far down for him to reach? He didn't have enough energy to fly back to a warmer climate and was fairly certain his energon deficiency would force him into stasis lock if he tried. That arctic venture was a daring move, which Starscream had known from the beginning, but there was nowhere else for him to go. His regular haunts had been depleted long ago and if he wanted to survive, he had to expand his horizons.

The area ahead seemed lighter than the rest of the grey tundra. Starscream narrowed his optics and made out a few dark shapes growing more defined the closer he got. They didn't look like energon crystals, but Starscream quickened his pace anyway. Approaching the silhouettes, he could make out more details and a shiver of foreboding hit his spark as he recognized the shapes as warehouses that stood a little taller than he did. There were only three and didn't appear to have any external markings, but his attention wasn't on them for long.

Starscream's hungry optics landed on the stacks of already mined energon cubes that were illuminated by giant light sets and his pedes swiftly carried him over. He bent slightly and tapped the surface of a cube as if to test if it were real. Upon finding it solid, a sharp grin split his face. The grin faltered slightly when he _truly _took in what he was seeing. _The energon had already been mined_- someone would be returning for it soon.

Working quickly, Starscream pulled a cable from subspace and tied three of the cubes together. It wasn't much, but it was all he could carry in his weakened state. He attached the cable to his front and went to transform when the whine of a charging weapon caused him to instinctively freeze and his wings to lower themselves submissively.

The noise came from his left. He turned slowly and took in the triangular barrel that was heating up to a dark orange the longer he stared at it. The mysterious weapon was protruding from an open door on one of the buildings he'd foolishly ignored. Lettering along the side of the warehouse boldly proclaimed 'MECH' in dark script.

_Frag, _Starscream swore. He'd been a fool to miss it.

"Release the energon," A strong voice demanded from inside. Starscream identified the weapon as some sort of cannon that was about as thick as his torso and as long as his arm. It resembled something from Cybertron and had no doubt been created from the information the organization had gathered from cutting Breakdown open. A human clad in black was sitting in a seat behind the barrel, one of its hands resting on the trigger and the other holding a megaphone to its face.

Panic began to set in. Leaving the energon behind wasn't an option. Trapped, Starscream hesitated only a moment before he transformed and took off into the sky.

The energon cubes suspended beneath him slammed into each other and threw him off his balance but the seeker managed to correct himself before he went careening back into the ground. He poured as much power into his thrusters as he could spare, which wasn't much, and swore at the lack of speed. He had no idea what the blast range on that weapon was but he doubted he could escape it in time at the rate he was going. Starscream angled himself upward and climbed higher into the sky, hoping to become lost in the grey clouds that weren't too unlike his own paint scheme.

The only sound was the howling of the wind whipping passed him and the shriek of his straining systems. Starscream entertained a brief notion that maybe he was in the clear when an enormous boom shook the air and his world exploded into chaos.

He screamed when one of the energon cubes he was carrying exploded underneath him. The heat was unbearable after being so cold for so long; he smelt burning paint and melting wires. Starscream transformed without thinking and flipped through the air, managing to detach the cable just as the other two cubes caught fire and exploded behind him. There was no time to register the new sensation before he collided with the unforgiving ice.

Only two spark beats passed before the pain hit.

The pale winter wasteland swallowed his screams of agony. Hot energon slid down what remained of his left wing and pooled on his back to drip to the ground while the mech struggled to pull himself from the crater his body had created on impact. The seeker whimpered and spat a globule of energon out in the snow. He'd ruptured something.

Starscream shakily took stock of his injuries once he was no longer driven senseless from the pain. Half his left wing had been taken off in the explosion as well as the tip of his inner winglet. One of his internal organs had been damaged as well, judging from the terrible pain that caused him to hunch over. Energon sluggishly leaked from several cuts along his back and he felt the smarting of several burns decorating his frame. He would've run a self diagnostic but something told him he really didn't want to know the full extent of his damage. It wouldn't matter, anyway. He had no way to repair himself, and all the energon was gone.

Starscream tried staggering to his feet and collapsed with a cry when whatever internal organ he'd hurt sent a sharp bolt of pain shooting through his frame. For a moment his sight was replaced with a sheet of white static before the sense was returned to him.

It became obvious he wasn't going anywhere.

Energon levels below 20%. Refuel immediately. His HUD warned him. Starscream dismissed it. Crouched there in the snow with the cold nestling deep into his form while the energon he's spent the last few weeks scavenging leaked from his frame, Starscream found he didn't care. Some part of him always knew he'd never survive long as a loner. He'd predicted being hunted down by the Decepticons and killed for his treachery or deactivated by the self righteous Autobots, but even he hadn't factored humans into the equation. It was an unjust way for a former Decepticon air commander to go, but he supposed it mattered little. Death was death, and it wouldn't be long before he succumbed.

Starscream shook and clutched at his middle. Waves of agony poured from his wing and he wanted to chitter like a sparkling calling for its carrier. He pushed back on the sobs that threatened to overcome him and hung his helm to offline his optics. He was sick of looking at the snow.

The wind picked up and, if it were possible, the air grew even colder. Starscream doubted he had the strength to hold himself up much longer, as he could literally feel the energy leaving his frame. A sizzle of white hot pain jolted through him and he gasped as another trail of energon ran down his wing and dripped onto the ground.

Above the perpetual howl of the wind, Starscream caught another noise. The rhythmic crunch of snow sounded almost like pedefalls and while he dared not hope, he couldn't help but online his optics and look up.

He was met not with the sight of the frozen tundra, but with a large grey chassis that was all too familiar from that angle. His optics squinted, and he was certain it almost looked like-

"L-Lord Megatron?" Starscream's voice was a thin, disbelieving croak, unsure if he was really there. The warlord gazed down at him, his expression hard and disapproving, the red light of his optics burning through the storm. And yet, there was a rare gleam of pity there, too. Perhaps even a measure of concern.

Reaching down, Megatron seized Starscream by the arms and hoisted the smaller mech to his feet. Starscream let out a strangled cry of pain, knees buckling and threatening to send him sprawling back into the snow, but Megatron's powerful hands suddenly lifted him up, guiding the Seeker's long legs to either side of his waist. Whimpering and sobbing, Starscream instinctively threw his arms around the warlord's neck. He was shaking violently now, his shivers going from little spasms to full-blown convulsions.

Megatron's big hands suddenly moved from Starscream's wrist to his lower back, holding the Seeker flush against his chassis. Starscream's fingers scraped along Megatron's back, leaving tiny silver scratches before finally settling. The heat of Megatron's armor felt like a furnace against the Seeker's frozen mesh, the warlord's crushing, unfamiliar closeness filling him with an overwhelming and nearly hysterical sense of relief.

Megatron said nothing while the seeker tried to press himself closer to his warmth and tried to contact Soundwave to request a groundbridge. Static crackled and popped in his audio with Starscream's whimpering and Megatron scowled. The warlord tried twice more but both times ended in failure. He figured the arctic storm was messing with the signal. Megatron began to trudge through the deep snow banks, Starscream clinging to him with his face buried in his neck. A few drops of energon splattered onto his thick arm, quickly followed by several more. The thin seeker whimpered once more and fell silent, sagging limply in his tight hold. Megatron shook him roughly and Starscream stiffened, fingers scratching against the ex-gladiator's back again as another whimper of pain worked its way passed his lips.

They pair made it a few more steps before Starscream began to slump forward again. Megatron growled and detached him from his frame, dropping him as gently as he could back onto the ground. The sudden shift shocked Starscream's optics back online and Megatron couldn't help the concern he felt at how dim they were.

The warlord pulled an energon cube from subspace and knelt beside his fallen second in command. "Drink." He ordered, holding it out. The smaller mech eagerly reached for the cube but lacked the strength to hold it- the container slipped between his spindly fingers and Megatron just barely managed to catch it before its contents were spilled all over both of them. He realized if Starscream was going to refuel, he would need help.

His gaze hardening, he raised the cube to the seeker's lips and the smaller mech began drinking at once, gulping down great mouthfuls of what must have been the greatest energon he'd ever tasted, even if it was only the standard Decepticon brew. He tried to swallow too much at once and Megatron pulled the cube away as he coughed, the wasted energon trickling down his chin while he spluttered. "Slow down, you idiot." Megatron growled, but there was no real ire in his voice. He returned the cube to Starscream's lips and he continued to drink, albeit slower than before.

All too soon the cube was empty. Megatron tossed the empty container aside and studied his former second, watching the way his optics closed slightly in exhaustion. They weren't as dull as they had been but they were far from glowing.

A shiver racked Starscream's body as another strangled noise of pain came from him and he bent over, clutching his middle. This new position allowed Megatron to get a closer look at the damaged back appendages. Both the wing and the winglet were still bleeding, which meant Starscream's self repairs weren't taking care of the leaks. Judging by the way he was grabbing at his abdomen, Megatron guessed something had happened to his self repair systems upon impact with the unforgiving ground. If Starscream were to carry on, he'd bleed out before they could find a way to contact the Nemesis.

The Decepticon leader briefly wondered why he should care. It would be easy to leave the injured mech there, bleeding and incapable of flight, until he offlined. Megatron wasn't sure why he bothered showing up when the ship had detected Starscream's life signature anyway. He'd originally planned on dragging him back to the Nemesis to show the rest of the crew what happened to traitors, but when he heard the oh-so-familiar screams and came across the frail looking mech nearly dead in the snow, he couldn't leave him. Though he'd never admit it, Megatron found the Nemesis wasn't quite the same without Starscream there beside him.

A low moan brought Megatron out of his musings and returned his attention to the broken wing. He unsubspaced a basic medical kit and placed a firm hand on Starscream's back, pushing him down onto his front in the snow.

"Hold still," Megatron commanded.

"What are you doing?" Starscream shivered, squirming around and trying to push himself up. The combination of Megatron's knee coming down on the middle of his back and a jolt of nauseating pain from his abdomen stopped his movements.

"Don't move." Megaton repeated. He flipped a switch on the small battlefield welder and waited for the device to heat up so he could use it. He tested it against his palm and the metal sparked brightly.

Starscream panicked. "What was that?!" He demanded weakly, craning his helm to see backward. His dim optics widened at the sight of the welder and he screeched. "No, no no!" His arms flailed wildly, his long fingers leaving deep scratches in the ice.

"Enough!" Megatron barked, "I need to patch you up or you'll bleed out."

"Not while I'm awake!" he protested, legs kicking as he tried in vain to dislodge the much larger build. The thought of that white hot rod going anywhere near him, let alone his _injured wing _was cause for hysteria. It would close the wound and stop the bleeding but it was only a temporary fix for battlefield wounds until a medic could be fetched. Starscream never had taken well to it or any other medical procedure, insisting Knock Out put him in stasis before starting any repairs. His wings were already twice as sensitive as the rest of his body and just imagining how it would feel to have that scorching device melt shut the edge of his broken wing nearly made him purge his newly consumed energon.

Megatron snarled and shoved Starscream's head into the snow and started on the repairs while he was distracted. He placed the glowing rod to the winglet and waited until he could see the metal begin to pool together before slowly dragging it along the jagged edge. Starscream stiffened for a moment and screeched in pain but knew better than to start flailing again. His talons bit deeper into the ice as a way to keep himself from moving.

Once the iron reached the edge of its run Megatron inspected the seal. It was still shining with heat but it was obvious the welder had done its job. The Decepticon commander watched for another moment but no more energon escaped. The leak had been sealed.

Megatron shifted his weight and grabbed a firm hold of Starscream's wing in case the appendage started to twitch in the middle of the procedure. Starscream wailed.

"Wait wait wait- Auuaugh!"

The scalding iron sent liquid fire burning through his wing's sensor array and not even the snow his face was shoved in could muffle his screams. The ex-gladiator wasn't fazed; he continued with his task, running the tool along the broken wing slowly enough to let it do its job. The tyrant had done enough of his own repairs back when he was a gladiator to know how long it would take to get a wound to close. He removed the welder and replaced his repair kit in subspace but continued to hold Starscream down as the metal cooled. Aside from a single blue drop that slowly slid down from the seal, the bleeding had stopped.

Eventually, he stood. Starscream didn't move, but Megatron could tell from the faint twitching of his wings that he was still conscious. He hauled the limp seeker up and prompted him to replace his arms around his neck and legs around his waist. The small seeker pressed himself closer to his warmth and tucked his face in his neck again. There was a wetness coming from Starscream's face that had nothing to do with the snow but Megatron paid it no mind and continued to walk. Every few minutes he'd test his comm unit signal but so far only the static was there to answer his calls.

The storm was starting to get worse. The shrieking wind was getting on his nerves, as it reminded him of the seeker he was currently holding on a bad day. To break the monotony, Megatron turned his helm slightly and spoke, "This changes nothing."

Starscream merely mumbled an affirmative.

Megatron was prepared to continue his verbal abuse toward the smaller mech but the words died on his glossa. He felt a certain… _boredom _in degrading the mech who was barely able to listen. There was no point in it; not then, not when he was carrying him to safety. Not when he'd just saved his life. It would be pointless. Ah, that was the word he was looking for. The _pointlessness _of it hit him with its entirety and Megatron wondered why he'd ever done it in the first place. Why had he continued to beat Starscream to hell, just to have him repaired at the last minute? If he was so tired of the pest, why didn't he just scrap him like he'd planned several times over? It was a cycle they'd both been caught in, but despite how much Megatron denied it, he felt as if something was different. Something had changed.

It took three hours. Twice more Megatron was forced to stop and refuel Starscream with what little energon he had with him lest he pass out and never wake up. The seeker never spoke once and remained completely silent aside from the occasional whimper of pain that escaped him. There wasn't anything to say. Despite the animosity and hatred between the two, they both knew what had happened that day. Megatron had the perfect opportunity to kill him, just as he'd threatened for Primus knew how long, but he didn't. He'd fueled and patched Starscream up when both of them knew he didn't have to.

The powerful humming of the Nemesis broke through the shrieking wind and the giant warship desended from the clouds, a giant yellow transport tube lowering from the bottom to lift them up. Megatron stepped onto the platform and it slowly retracted into the bowels of the ship.

Yes, they both knew what happened that day.

Everything had changed.

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AN: I'm a little iffy on the ending here but I don't dislike it enough to keep from posting it. Thank you for reading, and please review!


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